Local government ICT departments are “under unprecedented pressure to deliver more with less”, and face further budget and staff cuts, according to the annual report on public sector technology trends by the Society of IT Management (Socitm).
The report, ‘Stretched to breaking point’ ( http://bit.ly/5vcR3V ), found that budgets available for local government ICT have already declined by more than 10% on average since 2008. A 10% reduction in staff numbers is also predicted. Despite these constraints, ICT departments are increasingly expected to drive cost-cutting measures throughout other departments in councils, the report found.
Speaking to E-Government Bulletin John Serle, editor of the report, said this pressure would lead to long-term problems. “You can’t go on [cutting ICT budgets] indefinitely” said Serle. “IT is not seen as a strategic management tool – it’s actually seen by other senior managers as just a utility, and a cost, which is why people start to focus on reducing the cost. Although spending on IT is a relatively small part of the total spending [of a local authority], it’s probably seen by managers and politicians as spending you can turn off, in the short-term without consequence.”
However, the report also highlights some positive findings, including that local authorities “appear to be using technology more innovatively” in areas such as staff use of mobile technology and home working. Open source technology, ‘cloud-based’ services (data hosted by a third party, allowing users remote access) and social media tools could also help reduce rising software costs, the report found.
The IT Trends report is based on a survey sent to the head of ICT of every local authority in the UK and some other public bodies, with data from 390 organisations contributing to the 2009-10 report.
NOTE: Article originally published in E-Government Bulletin issue 304.
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